Today, I awoke at 5:10am to watch a total lunar eclipse. This is the first time I’ve seen the moon completely disappear into darkness with no remnant of its form remaining. As the moon slowly disappeared, I stood amazed at how the sun’s radiance reflects off the moon revealing what is normally hidden in total darkness. [...]
Filed under: devotional | Tagged: Jesus, lunar eclipse | 2 Comments »
Experience increases knowledge. How well can we know someone, without experiencing him or her? We can know about them. But to really know them, we must experience them. Experiencing God increases our knowledge of God. Hearing or singing about God, during 2 hours of a 168-hour week, is insufficient to know God. To know Him, [...]
Filed under: church | Tagged: obedience, spiritual formation | Leave a Comment »
To be irrelevant with God’s truth is to be irreverent.
Filed under: church | Tagged: cultural relevance, culture, ministry | 4 Comments »
Have you ever read part of the Bible and walked away asking “What the heck is up with that?” Yah?. Me too. Yesterday, I read Ezekiel chapters 40 – 42 which provides a corner to corner measurement of the Jewish temple as seen in a vision. Talk about boring. Why would God even put this [...]
Filed under: devotional | Tagged: Bible study | Leave a Comment »
Bill Hybles’ new book Holy Discontent is page-by-page inspiration, challenging us to identify the “firestorm of frustration” that is welling up from the core of our being, by answering the question: “what can’t I stand?” Once we understand what is driving us to the point of anger producing frustration, we “ought” to take action that [...]
Filed under: book review | Tagged: Bill Hybles, life purpose | 1 Comment »
Some people say, “I’m turning a page” or “I’m starting a new chapter in my life.” Not us! Instead, God is closing our book. Volume 1 of our life story is over. Volume 2 is now beginning and the pages are blank. It has been eight years since God first gave Stefani and me the vision for…
Filed under: CHURCH PLANTING | Tagged: church planters assessment center, CHURCH PLANTING, indepent christian churches, stadia | 4 Comments »
LifeWay Research recently completed a study and report that identifies why most young adults are leaving the church and what causes the few to stay.The purpose of this blog entry is to amplify the positive, by identifying in the LifeWay Research report, what causes the few to stay. This information is based on the article [...]
Filed under: church, youth ministry | Tagged: Ed Stetzer, LifeWay Research, parents, spiritual formation, spiritual mentoring, youth | 3 Comments »
We have known for a while that teenagers are exiting the church leading up to high school graduation and into college, but little has been written in regards to solving this issue – until now. Ed Stetzer with LifeWay has just completed a research study that identifies the factors that move students away from the [...]
Filed under: church, youth ministry | Tagged: cadre international, teenagers, training, youth, Youth Pastor | 2 Comments »
Just over a year ago, my wife and I were searching to gain insight on rearing our children to passionately love Jesus. This time around, we wanted to talk with someone other than our parents. The qualifications for the family we chose were simple: They had to have more than one child (preferably three) They [...]
Filed under: parenting | Tagged: children | 1 Comment »
I was hovering around the water fountain, after my trail run this morning, when an older gentleman and two younger boy’s road in from the mountain bike trails. I observed, as they filled up their water bottles and soaked their faces. My observations became a conviction that had to be spoken. Looking the older man [...]
Filed under: discipleship | Tagged: Jesus, masculinity, men, mentoring, ministry, missional living, Real Men, youth | 3 Comments »
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